Mass Effect: A Different Past
by ilkar87
Summary: Just a different past for the game, telling the story of the rise of the Alliance till Mass Effect. Sherpard and Miranda eventually. Reviews welcome
1. Chapter 1

Mass Effect: Different Past.

Author Notes: I love Mass Effect! It's an awesome story with a great cast. But as much as I loved the story, certain aspects of the story just never clicked for me; the first contact war, the way the council screwed the Quarians, genocide of the Rachni (Totally get them screwing over the Krogan) and the Systems Alliance need to appease them (and no, I'm not a Cerberus lover, I just think it's too much work for such a little reward). In the end, I decided a wanted a story with a stronger Alliance and pretty much a universe where the council didn't have everyone over a barrel. Then I read Mass Effect; A new past by Bombsquad (fanfic, if u haven't read it, you should. it's brilliant), the evolution of that version of the Alliance was great and the story just flowed. Anyway, on to the story.

Disclaimer; I don't own mass effect or any of its cast. All owned by Bioware. All hail the mighty Bioware!

Rise of the Systems Alliance.

2038: Third World War triggered due to scarcity of resources and perceived dominance of western powers. World political arena fractures into three main factions; The Socialist Coalition (Russia and China), The Western Alliance (the majority of Europe and The United States of America) and The African Federation.

2043: War brings humanity to the brink of self annihilation. Cease fire talks begin.

2048: Due to massive planetary wide destruction, terraforming of radiated areas is successfully attempted.

2050: As terraforming was merely a stop-loss measure, humanity looks to the stars for its salvation.

2051: United Space Initiative founded with the mandate to find viable means of space exploration and colonisation.

2070: Research into viable space faring technology pays off with the successful launch of Ark I and terraforming of the moon for colonisation.

2074: Advancement in space engine design allows for greater distances to be travelled, making planetary colonisation a reality.

2077: Missions to colonise nearest planets and their moons green lit, with Luna colony serving as launch site. Venus and Mars first to be reached and colonised. Mars's moons soon follow.

2078: Systems Alliance replaces United Space Initiative as the head of humanity's frontline space exploration efforts.

2080: Signs of alien intelligence discovered on Venus. System Alliance cover up so as not to discourage colonisation efforts.

2081: N7 Special Forces program established to deal with "whatever the hell is out here with us" in the words of General George Anderson; first commanding officer of the unit. Recruits gathered from the cream of the crop of Alliance forces to undergo physical and mental reconditioning. Program attached to Alliance Intelligence Division.

2085: N7 marines active in operations against pirate forces based on and around the moons of Jupiter.

2087: Numerous other alien relics found. Alliance again covers up discoveries and uses found technology to advance human technology

2088: AI technology research finally pays off. Use limited to colonies and capital ships.

2094: Venus Prime Colony suffers massive damage due to failure of environmental controls. Lives lost numbers in the hundreds.

2095: Expedition to explain "Bermuda Triangle" reports near Martian Colony Beta launched.

2097, SSV Charleston, en route to Mars colony

"So, any idea what it is they've found on the dust ball?" 1st Lieutenant Peter Stanford asked his commanding officer as they walked towards the hangar to meet the rest of their squad.

"Some sort of structure in the desert, won't know what exactly it is till we get there and break it open. Local forces were ordered to secure the area around the site and prevent it being disturbed. Our job as always is to do the dirty work of going in, doing recon and then opening the door and let the science boys work their magic" replied Lieutenant Commander Wes Crown. Both were members of the N7 Special Forces unit stationed on the Charleston.

"But why us? We're due for some R&R after the Jupiter op." Stanford stated.

"True. But the captain says the brass wanted a unit with experience in dealing with, shall we say "exotic" environs. That's us and Klaus's boys, and we were closer" replied Crown.

"So it's definitely alien then" Stanford said as they entered the lift that would take them to the hangar.

"Yup. And early signs say it's something different. For one thing, it's not completely dead. It seems to have been causing the "Bermuda triangle" problems in the area for some time. Doesn't seem to have active defences, but wouldn't be the first time we've thought that, only to lose men to an unseen booby trap. So command doesn't want any mistakes. Hence; us."

"Active and possible working alien tech? See why the brass might be getting excited. Men won't be too happy about this. They were looking forward to that R&R. Ah well; they'll just have to suck it up."

The lift opened to reveal the hangar and the rest of the squad. Gunnery Chief Erica Valdez, who acted as the team sniper was sitting on a crate, checking the sights on her pistol. Valdez was an exceptional shot and arguably one of the best snipers in the forces. Next to her on her right was the team medic and resident smartass Corporal James Smith trying to get her attention and being pointedly ignored. On her left Gunnery Chief Lao Teng was talking to the team's Tech Specialist Services Chief Thomas Cohen about improving the stability of his machine gun. As they noticed their commanding officer enter the hangar, they immediately came to attention in a straight line.

"At ease, marines" said Crown. "Due to new orders, R&R is going to be delayed awhile. We've been directed by command to one of the Mars colonies. Apparently they've discovered what appears to be an alien structure. You have a question there, Smith?"

"Sir, when you say R&R has been delayed, does that mean delayed till further notice i.e. military code for forget it or just delayed till this op is finished?" said Smith.

"Smith, shut up" responded Stanford.

"Thank you, Lieutenant. As I was saying, the structure appears to be intact. And unlike previous alien artefacts encountered, it's giving off energy readings. I don't think I have to underline how important recovering any and all tech from this structure could help the Alliance, so I won't. This is what we've been trained for and we've also dealt with. ETA to Mars is 30 hours. Get your gear ready for deployment. Any questions? , and Smith isn't allowed any for being a smartass."

"How did they find the structure in the first place?" asked Cohen.

"Scientists were trying to solve a mystery in the area and stumbled across it. Just glad they didn't go in and mess with something they shouldn't have. Remember Venus."

At the mention of Venus, the team shuddered. What appeared to be an alien vessel looked to have crashed on the planet and the scientists who found it had let their curiosity get the best of them and had unleashed some sort of life form that nearly destroyed the colony. Had the squad arrived any later, the body count might have been higher.

"Still have the scars" muttered Teng.

"What's the dress code? Full assault, Hazmat, recon or regular armour" asked Valdez.

"Good question. We don't know yet. No one's risking going in yet, they're waiting on us. We go in with Hazmat to be safe and change accordingly" responded Crown. "Any more questions? No? Then, Dismissed."

As the team walked away to get ready for the mission, Teng turned to Cohen "Think this is gonna be the big one?" "Don't know, but it's got potential. I mean all the other sites just gave us basic tech we were already on our way to acquiring ourselves anyway. Be nice to get something new" said Cohen. "Still. Can't wait to see it".

29 hours to Mars

"All right people, get in line. 1 hour to party time. Gear prepped and ready to go?" asked Stanford.

"Yes sir!" was the reply.

"AI ready?" Stanford asked Cohen. "Packed and ready" Cohen replied. The use of AI's was pretty much restricted to capital ships and colonies. That was the official story anyway. N7 forces had been using them since the advent of the technology, the benefits of them in combat missions being just too good to pass up. While it might take a human tech several minutes to take over an enemy system, an AI could do in a fraction of the time and obtain all the necessary information from said system.

"Sitrep, LT." Said Crown.

"Team is good to go. Just give the word" stated Stanford.

"Good to know. Can't wait to get this mission on the way. Something about this one just seems different" said Crown.

Stanford chuckled "You always say that before every op. And yet nothing special happens".

"Law of averages means I'm gonna get it right eventually" laughed Crown.

Captain Lucius Jeffers was on the bridge looking at Mars through the viewport and couldn't help but smile. This was why he signed up with the Alliance, to be able to see worlds like this, he thought. Who would have thought a century ago that humanity would be able to accomplish what it had so far. True, it might have come about as a result of humans nearly destroying themselves, but the salient point was that it had happened and humanity was moving forward as a species. Some were beginning to say humanity had entered a new golden age with all the medical and technological leaps that had been achieved courtesy of the Alliance. Well, the alliance and some long gone aliens, (not that the general public had to know that. Alliance brass totally bought into "the less they know, the better" way of thinking.). That line of thought brought him back to the reason his ship was there and not en route to Luna base. He was actually glad it had been an Alliance science team that had found it and not a private firm, which would have made a cover up that much harder. As it was all he had to do was drop his N7 marines for a recon on the site and then move on for R&R. He had just begun thinking what he would do for his shore leave, when his comm. badge beeped.

"Unit ready for deployment" said Commander Crown.

"Very well commander. On my way." He replied.

As he entered the hangar and looked on the N7 unit, Jeffers was glad they were on his side. Everything about their state of the art armour was designed to intimidate the opposition, whoever they might be. He didn't know what had been done to the soldiers recruited for the program and a part of him didn't want to know if reports of the survival rates were to be believed. All he knew was that whatever had been done had made the survivors the most lethal beings in the forces with or without their armour.

"Officer on deck" snapped LT Stanford. And the entire unit came to attention.

"At ease" said Jeffers. "Mission is a go. Get in, recon and get out. You know the drill. Brass wanted the best, that's why you're here. That is all"

"Move out" said Commander Crown.

As the shuttle made its way to the surface, Crown was glad it wasn't a hot drop with someone trying to kill him before he had even made it to the ground yet. "Approaching drop zone" announced the pilot. "Final checks, people. Its party time." said Stanford. The squad duly checked they had everything required and gave the thumbs up. "Let's go" said Crown. With that the unit headed for the back of the shuttle and got in line to jump out. Because of the interference created by what had now being identified as the alien structure, the shuttle could not drop them directly at the site, so they would have to go in on foot. "Go. Go. Go" said the co pilot and starting with Commander Crown, the unit dived out of the shuttle. Courtesy of the armour, a parachute was unnecessary as the team hurtled to the ground "Impact in 3, 2, and 1. Impact. Alpha team successfully deployed. Proceeding to primary target" stated Crown. The team hit the ground running. "Spread out and remain in visual contact at all times. Alpha 2 take point. Everyone else, formation 3". After a few minutes of running, Stanford said "Have visual on target. Anyone picking up anything on scans?" A series of negatives was the reply. The team came to a halt in front of what seemed to be the entrance of the structure.

"Let's break her open. Alpha 5, you're up" said Crown. Cohen stepped forward and as he approached the front of the structure and made to touch the structure, it retracted upwards to show a downward corridor. "Well done, 5." said Crown. "Wasn't me Alpha 1." Cohen replied.

"Site's definitely not dormant. Send in the drone, 5." said Crown. This was definitely different, thought Crown. So far they hadn't encountered a live site. While the others still had tech that could be reverse engineered, none had been powered up when they had been found, even the vessel found on Venus had been powered up by a jury rigged generator.

"Drone giving the all clear. Atmospheric readings coming in... All good, breathable air, no radiation detected. Looks like Hazmat not needed, 1". Cohen said. "Right. Lose the Hazmat gear. Let's go in. Alpha 4 take point." said Crown and Teng stepped forward hefting his machine gun "4 on point" he said.

The team followed Teng down the corridor until it opened into what appeared to be an inner courtyard with three entrances. "Split up or take it one at a time?" Stanford asked Crown. "Narrow passages could only take one of us, one at a time anyway. Split up. Alpha 6 and 3 stay here and secure the room. Alpha 2 with me, we'll take the first corridor. Alpha 4 and 5 second corridor. Move out" said Crown.

Smith and Valdes moved to secure the room, with Teng and Cohen heading towards the second passage, with Teng taking point. Crown and Stanford headed for the first corridor, with Stanford on point. Once they were alone, Smith turned to Valdes and asked "Who do you think will meet their grisly end first? My money's on 4 and 5." "Nah, with Alpha 4 on point with his "little friend", nothing's getting past him" replied Valdez. "See your point. Sucks to be Alpha 1 and 2 then." joked Smith.

Crown had to say he was a bit disappointed with the site. When it had opened up, he had hoped to see... okay, he didn't know what he had hoped to see, but at least it would have been nice to at least find something. All he and Stanford had seen had amounted to zilch. "See anything?" he asked Stanford. "Nada. Looks like u were wrong again 1." Was the reply, Stanford was about to say "maybe next time", when over the comms they heard "Holy crap! What is that thing? Alpha 1, you are definitely gonna want to see this".

Cohen was in love. The moment he saw the craft, he felt like he finally understood all that poetry he read at school. He was never going to look at another vessel in the same way ever again. "On our way to you Alpha 4. Sit tight." came the commander's voice over the comms.

"Sounds like they found something" said Smith to Valdes.

"Sounds like" said Valdes. She looked to her right to see the commander and LT jogging past her and into the second passage way. As much as she wanted to follow her commanding officer and see what could be humanity's greatest discovery, she was a professional and would wait her turn. Besides it wasn't going anyway yet and neither was she.

As he saw the ship, Crown couldn't help but smile. "Law of averages Alpha 2, Law of averages" he said to Stanford. "Alpha 5 set up the drone to watch this beauty. Then let's check out the rest of this place."

The unit moved to the third passage and saw a structure in the centre of the room. "Look likes a computer terminal. I'm gonna set up the AI. Looks like we get to use her after all." Cohen said. As he attempted to set up the uplink the room lit up and the entire squad went on alert.

"What did you do 5?" asked Crown. "Nothing. Haven't even set up the AI." was Cohen's reply.

"Alpha 1, this place just lit up like a Christmas tree. What's going on?" Valdes asked over the comms.

"Don't know yet Alpha 3 will keep you updated. Just hold position. Alpha 5 give me something" said Crown.

Cohen really wished he could. He hadn't even touched the damn console yet and the alien base seemed intent on showing him up. Just as he was about to initiate the AI upload, a green glow washed over him. Too intent on his work to care, he finally stopped when he heard Teng say "5? You might want to see this". He looked to see what appeared to be a humanoid looking hologram speaking gibberish. The hologram seemed to flicker and then said in perfect English; "Welcome to Installation 5. I am Morlec. How can I be of assistance to you?"


	2. Chapter 2

Authors Notes;I thought it weird that the Protheans were the only aliens to have come across our system. So I took a few liberties. Any and all reviews are welcome.

Chapter 2

**2099, Alliance Headquarters on Luna**

Representative Henry Squallaci could not believe what he was hearing. Apparently not only had the Alliance Intelligence Division seen fit to cover up the evidence of actual intelligent alien life, but some of the most recent technological breakthroughs had been achieved through these discoveries. "So what you are saying is that since the 70's, you have covered up all evidence of the existence of aliens. What gives you the right?" he demanded of the Alliance officer briefing the representatives.

"You did. When you decided to let us act as the spearhead of humanity into the great unknown. Don't fool yourselves, ladies and gentlemen. The advancements provided through our efforts would not have been readily accepted had the general populace known their true origin. Especially the breakthroughs in medicine. Would you have liked to know, for example, that the genetic enhancements that have increased our collective lifespan came from a species we can't even name?" was Rear Admiral Hansen's reply.

"I think the key question here is, why are you telling us all this now? What's happened?" This was representative Sidibe speaking.

"Two years ago, an Alliance research team set out to solve the "Bermuda Triangle" problems we've been experiencing in the area next to Beta Colony on Mars. What they found was an actual alien structure. We promptly sent in a team to ensure it didn't pose any threat to the colony or humanity as a whole..."

"Have any of these discoveries posed a threat?" a representative asked. "There was an incident on Venus. But it was contained and dealt with accordingly." Stated the Rear Admiral and added before anyone could interrupt. "The details of all alien sites and encounters are in the dossiers that are being handed out. As I was saying; as soon was the site had been secured, we sent in our science teams. To say they found us the keys to the universe would be an understatement. On the site, we found an actual fully functioning spacecraft, an advanced AI and this..." said Hansen as he turned to the screen. "That, ladies and gentlemen, is what we thought was Charon. In reality, it's a means of intergalactic travel called a Mass Relay, and our ticket to the rest of the universe."

"Who or what built them?" enquired a representative.

"Unknown. What is known is that they were found by a race called the Protheans, who used them to build what appears to be a mighty empire" replied Hansen.

"Are these Protheans still around and do they pose a threat?" representative Sidibe asked.

"While the AI stationed there was very helpful, it's a bit out of date. Over 2 millennia out of date. Any information it has about its creators is therefore worthless. It has however been extremely helpful in allowing us to get a grasp of the Prothean language and technology. So if they are still out there, we won't know till we meet them." said Hansen. "As to if they pose a threat, truth is we don't know. Morlec says they were an advanced race and paints them as benevolent. But they created her and if our primitive AI's can lie, then so can she."

"This brings me to the point of this meeting. You asked why we took it upon ourselves to not share previous encounters. Because to be honest; they were not relevant or largely significant. This is. The universe beckons and while previously we had no defence against anything we could have encountered, we do now. In the dossiers being handed out, you will notice plans for the construction of several classes of ships. These include craft carriers, frigates, destroyers and Super Carriers. Whatever is out, we have to be prepared for it."

"You make it sound like you wish to wage a war against whatever we find out there." said Squallaci, who had been so far quiet.

"Not at all, but I'm a strong believer in the motto of the now defunct British navy "If you wish for peace, prepare for war"." said Hansen.

"Wasn't that the mentality that damn near had us almost wipe ourselves out?" said representative Hauser.

Hansen sighed "No. The mentality that nearly wiped us out believed we could nuke each other and live with the consequences, as long as the other person was dead. After the war, everyone assumed we would suddenly become pacifist, that's bullshit. We expanded to space, have a better quality of life and still people managed to become pirates and thieves. The reason Jupiter isn't a lawless hellhole right now is because we were in a position to handle it properly by being prepared."

That seemed to quieten the room. "Look. We're not asking for an invasion force here. We are asking for the ability to defend ourselves if the worst happens. Should we encounter any races out there, our first reaction won't be to blow them out of the sky."

"This is a lot of information to process, as you can imagine. We will have to deliberate and take it from there." said Hauser.

"Of course" said Hansen. He asked to be excused and stepped into the corridor with his aide. "What do you think is going to happen?" his aide asked. "They're going to deliberate. Come to the conclusion they don't have a damn choice. Make us wait awhile and then give us the damn funding. The galaxy just opened up for us, son." He said smiling. "And we're gonna take it by the balls"

**Three months later.**

The Alliance docks had taking to building the new ships with gusto. The Alliance wasn't risking sending any ships through the relay until it knew it had a good chance of defending humanity against anything a survey ship might bring back.

Admiral Hansen was pleased with the progress. He had thought the politicians would make them sweat a bit more before they gave the go ahead, not that he was complaining about their swift response. It meant he was able to direct his energies towards other things such as the right way of arming the fleet. While he appreciated the technology reverse engineered from the Prothean site, he and other military minds weren't too comfortable with the notion that should the actually encounter the Protheans, they would be facing an enemy who knew exactly what they would be capable of. This is why he was pushing for the Alliance to continue to explore its own technological evolution and see what they could come up with. The approach was already paying off dividends with some promising armaments coming out of the Luna labs. A particular technology he was personally pushing for was the stealth tech. The ability to hide any kind of force was always a handy option to have at one's disposal. The boys in the Intel Division were already equipping their ships with it and he suspected the commanding officer of the 5th scout flotilla Rear Admiral Tanaka would soon start pushing for her ships to get the upgrade so they could go through the relay. Well good luck to her on that score, if she wanted to be the first through without proper backup that was her choice. Just as long as she accepted that it would be necessary for her ships to be equipped with a self destruct protocol so as not to endanger the Alliance. It was a harsh, but necessary precaution.

"Sir?" someone said. Hansen turned to see a serviceman standing in his doorway. "Can I help you son?" he said, as the man came to attention. "Rear Admiral Tanaka requests your presence in her office, sir. She says that it is important" the serviceman, who was named Jameson by his nametag. "Hoshi always says it's important." The admiral muttered under his breath. Aloud he said "Inform the Admiral I'll be with her momentarily. Dismissed" He grabbed his jacket and started making his way to her office.

As he got nearer to her office, he could hear her talking to someone on her holo. "How soon can they be installed on the _Bunker Hill_ and _Bulge_?" "You have to understand ma'am, this technology is highly experimental. For all we know, long term usage could rip a hole in the universe." replied a clearly frustrated technician. "Am I interrupting?" said Hansen. "No. Come in Richard." She then and said to the man on the screen "Keep me updated." And cut the link.

"Richard. How have you been?" Tanaka said.

"Let's get straight to the point. What do you want?" said Hansen.

"I have to want something to ask to see you? Richard, you wound me." She said with a glint in her eye. "But now that you mention it, I could use your help. I'm being stonewalled by Bay and Smith. They won't tell me where they've dispatched two of my frigates."

"They're not really your frigates, Hoshi." said Hansen. "When I handpick the officers myself, you bet your ass they're mine. Besides if it's a covert op, I should be in the loop" she countered.

"You can't be surprised Smith is being secretive. Secretiveness goes hand in hand with being head of Alliance intelligence. Besides, I hear those two frigates are in operations against pirates" said Hansen.

"And I just graduated from the academy. Last week. Do you want to see my certificate?" said Tanaka.

"Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit Hoshi." replied Hansen.

"But it's still funny" Tanaka said.

"If I find out anything about the frigates, you'll be the first to know." Hansen said, as he got up to leave.

"Thank you Richard" Tanaka said.

**SSV _Charleston, _Across the Charon Relay.**

Captain Jeffers was on edge. Before his ship had crossed the relay, he was pretty sure he knew everything the galaxy could through at him. And then he got selected to go through the damn relay and embrace the unknown. The explorer in him was really glad to be out here, but his more pragmatic side was considering the fact that he was in unknown space without any possible backup.

"Captain, we got something on scanners" said the technician. "Looks like a satellite".

"Let's see it" said Jeffers. "Captain to engineering. You are gonna want to see this"

"Primitive. Looks like one of ours from the 1990's" said Chief Engineer Griffin. "Seems to be sending a signal to the fifth planet in the system"

"We could send Susan through the signal and interact with the source. See what the planet's about." Said Cohen.

"Susan?" said Griffin.

"Our AI. Really good at infiltration. Some might say she was built for it." grinned Cohen.

**Hours Later**

"What we got so far?" said Jeffers.

"Seems like a reptilian race. Advanced enough to have launched rockets to their two moons, not advanced enough to colonise them yet. Seem to be relatively peaceful, only have one world war on record. Looks like we've found another race to convince to join the Alliance." said Jeffers.

"Command will be pleased." said XO Harper


End file.
